The Civil War is portrayed largely through a black-and-white canvas of right and wrong, yet as with figures like John Singleton Mosby, the answer is not as simple. Mosby’s life story changed from a criminal to a Southern martyr to a “Grant” Republican hated by his former comrades. Through his revolutionary guerilla tactics, Mosby changed the course of the war and changed the direction of military tactics. Beyond his military contributions, Mosby overturned the view of the “righteous” Southern cause and attacked the Southern revisionists who fought to save the face of the Confederacy.